‍Website: www.bayer.com‍

The Company

Bayer AG is one of the world’s leading enterprises in the fields of healthcare and agriculture. In a global corporation of this scale, committee work — particularly at the executive level — plays a critical role. This is where decisions are made about which strategic topics to pursue, prioritize, or realign. For these decisions to be well-founded, background processes must run seamlessly.

This is where the CEO Office steps in. Since January 2025, the team has taken a major step toward greater transparency and structure by implementing Boardwise.

Executive-Level Organization: Complex, High-Stakes, and Time-Critical

Nadine Lorenz and Claudia Kodal, along with their colleagues Michaela Niklaus and Stephanie Wedlich, are responsible for organizing all aspects of board meetings within Bayer’s CEO Office. Acting as the central interface between the Executive Board and the company’s business units, they prepare decision-making materials, structure information, and ensure meetings are efficiently planned and properly documented.

While their day-to-day work was well organized, it relied on a patchwork of separate tools: agendas were created in Word, approvals were handled via Outlook, and minutes were managed in multiple formats. Every change meant copy-pasting, managing new versions, and personally following up with stakeholders.

„“We had our processes under control, but they were extremely manual. For each meeting, we had to open multiple tools.”
— Nadine Lorenz, Assistant, BoM Administration

The Need for a Smarter System

It quickly became clear: what the team needed was a solution that would integrate seamlessly with existing workflows without adding complexity.

After being introduced to Boardwise at the Microsoft Assistant Summit, the team decided to take a closer look at the software.

“Boardwise gives the entire CEO Office centralized access and drastically reduces the coordination effort.”
— Nadine Lorenz, Assistant, BoM Administration

Why Boardwise? Three Convincing Reasons

When selecting Boardwise, three key factors stood out:

• Central, intuitive platform
  All documents, agendas, and minutes are stored in one place – accessible by everyone involved, even in cases of substitution or last-minute changes.
• Seamless Microsoft 365 integration
  No tool switching, no workflow interruptions, and no need for new logins.
• Enterprise-grade security
  Full compliance with data protection, scalability, and internal IT security standards.

“You can tell a lot of expertise went into this solution. It’s well thought-out and ready to use right away.”
— Claudia Kodal, Board Assistant CEO Office

“The fact that everything no longer lives on just one device improves transparency and makes collaboration significantly more efficient.”
— Nadine Lorenz, Assistant, BoM Administration

Implementation: Step by Step

Implementation was carried out in close coordination with the Boardwise team. Specific requirements such as menu navigation and custom layout options for agendas and minutes were collected and implemented quickly.

“We’re very well supported. Our requests are taken seriously, and many of them were reflected in the next software updates.”
— Nadine Lorenz, Assistant, BoM Administration

Naturally, internal coordination with Bayer’s IT and Legal departments was necessary – standard procedure for a corporation with high compliance and security standards.

How Boardwise Improves Committee Work at Bayer

Since going live in January 2025, Boardwise has become an integral part of executive board meeting workflows and has noticeably reduced administrative burden. Here are some examples shared by Nadine and Claudia:

• Agendas almost write themselves
  What used to require copy-pasting now takes just a few clicks.
• Approval processes are fully transparent
  It’s always clear who has approved what – and what is still pending. Everything is audit-compliant.
• Minutes are created directly in the tool
  No more manual copying, screenshots, or version conflicts.

“I don’t need to open four different tools anymore. That saves time and spares my nerves.”
— Nadine Lorenz, Assistant, BoM Administration

How the Team and Executives Experience Boardwise

“Technically stable, reliable, and structured – that best describes Boardwise for us.”
— Claudia Kodal, Board Assistant CEO Office

Boardwise also receives positive feedback from executives and those submitting agenda items.

Looking Ahead: Enabling Discipline and Advancing Digital Processes

Boardwise is now fully established in the CEO Office and is bringing new momentum to committee work.

“The built-in deadlines help us gradually build more discipline into the submission process without constant follow-ups.”
— Nadine Lorenz, Assistant, BoM Administration

Other departments are currently evaluating the use of Boardwise. For Nadine and Claudia’s team, one thing is clear:

“With Boardwise, we stay in control and gain valuable time in the process.”
— Nadine Lorenz, Assistant, BoM Administration

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Results at a Glance

‍The Bottom Line

Many companies face the same challenge: committee work gets done, but it’s time-consuming and energy-intensive. Boardwise addresses this directly. It integrates seamlessly into existing structures and delivers real impact where it matters most: in the details.

Whether for executive boards, committees, or leadership teams – Boardwise brings clarity, structure, and more time for what truly matters.

👉 Book a demo today and see how Boardwise can simplify your work.